


Whatever This Was

by LesbianArsenal



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, Multi, Post-Crisis (DCU), Relationship Negotiation, Sort of? - Freeform, very slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-21 22:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14295015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianArsenal/pseuds/LesbianArsenal
Summary: Lian asks a simple question at breakfast, except for Roy, it's anything but simple.





	Whatever This Was

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiraswolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiraswolf/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this silly drabble!!  
> ((Happy Birthday))

Kids were a funny thing. They always knew more than you thought they did, and they had no problem voicing it. Hell, they knew things _before_ you did half the time. Roy knew he had a very observant daughter, so he supposed he should have seen it coming. He hadn’t exactly hidden his maybe-a-relationship from her, but he also hadn’t been truly aware that that’s what he had fallen into with his two friends. Though, as soon as the words left her mouth that morning, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He had been sitting at his kitchen table, his daughter to the left of him. Garth and Dolphin were sitting across from him, with Cerdian between them in his booster seat. Garth had stopped midway through spooning another bite of oatmeal into Cerdian’s mouth. Dolphin had bitten down on her spoon and not let it go. Lian seemed unphased. She was munching on a spoonful of cereal as if she hadn’t just caused him and the other adults in the room to freeze.

Roy tried to gain some semblance of his control back after nearly chocking on his breakfast.

“What was that, sweetheart?” Roy knew Lian didn’t like that particular nick-name, but it was taking all he could to even form words at the moment.

Lian cocked her head to the side and gave Roy a stare that reminded him a little too much of Jade before rolling her eyes. “I just want to know if I can stop calling them ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ and start calling them something different.”

Dolphin seemed to find her motor function again because she let out a terrible snort before slapping a hand over her mouth. Cerdian cooed at the noise from his mother and that seemed to bring Garth out of his stupor as well. He brought the spoon to Cerdian’s mouth and tried to look busy as he wiped the mess from his son’s face.

“Why would you call us anything different?” Dolphin asked.

Roy tried to communicate with his eyes how much he didn’t want his daughter to answer that question, but the five-year-old knew no such communication.

“You’re dating Dad, right?” Lian looked between Dolphin and Garth, but both were very quiet. “I thought you were.”

“Lian, I think its almost time for school, yeah? How about you get dressed and I’ll pack your lunch,” Roy said.

Lian shrugged and pushed herself away from the table, her chair making a terrible screeching sound against the floor as she went.

“We’ve talked about that,” Roy sighed.

“Sorry, Dad! I forgot!” Lian called as she scurried out of the room.

Roy had no doubt she hadn’t forgotten and had just wanted to make a scene out of essentially being told to leave the room. He sighed and got up from his own chair and moved to go to the fridge.

“Don’t bother, I packed her a lunch last night,” Garth mumbled. “Top shelf, behind the juice.”

Roy took a moment to stare at Garth before opening the fridge. He moved the juice a little bit to the side and stared at that for a moment, too. Sitting on the shelf was Lian’s lunchbox. It hadn’t done anything wrong, but Roy still found himself staring at the floral-patterned lunch sack like it had offended him.

“I didn’t mean to overstep,” Garth began, “I won’t do it again if you don’t want me to.”

Roy waved his hand in the air. His wrist felt like it was holding dead weight.

“Don’t worry about it,” Roy grabbed the small lunchbox out of the fridge and set it on the counter next to Lian’s backpack. “Uh, thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Garth said.

Roy glanced over, trying to maybe catch Garth’s eyes? He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, but he didn’t find it. Garth had busied himself with feeding Cerdian again. Roy shifted his eyes over to Dolphin, but she was seemingly entranced by the back of the cereal box in front of her.

Roy frowned and looked back down at the lunchbox on the counter.

When had this happened? When had Garth and Dol made themselves so at home that they were making his daughter’s lunches? This wasn’t entirely new, if he thought about it. They usually stayed with him while they were land-side. It was quieter than the Tower and Lian liked playing with Cerdian. And Roy liked having people in his bed.

It was just fun, though, right? Roy and Garth had been messing around since they were teenagers. Hell, all the Titans had. But this was different now, wasn’t it? This wasn’t just two friends messing around anymore. Garth was married to Dolphin, they had a son together. Even if Roy didn’t believe in marriage, he knew the bond that Garth and Dol shared was special. No, that’s exactly what made it just fooling around. Roy was just a friend who happened to like to share a bed.

He tried to shake his thoughts, but his thoughts kept bombarding him with gentle glances and opting to just settle into Garth and Dol’s embraces instead of taking it further. Those were just the perks of friends with benefits, right? Benefits didn’t just mean sex. Benefits could include making lunch for his daughter, too, then.

“Aunt Dolphin, can you help me with my hair?” Lian asked as she unceremoniously plopped herself on Dol’s lap. Dolphin chuckled and took the hair ties and barrettes from Lian’s raised hand. She carefully pulled Lian’s hair into two pigtails as Lian talked about why she had chosen the blue barrettes even though she was wearing a purple top. Dolphin smiled and hummed along with Lian’s explanations as she fastened the clips into her hair.

Benefits could be helping his daughter with her hair in the mornings, too…right? Donna helped Lian with her hair sometimes too. Although, maybe Donna wasn’t the best example. Did Roy even have a best example?

“Okay, Dad, I’m ready! Walk me to the bus stop now.”

“Walk me to the bus stop…” Roy trailed off, hoping that Lian would correct her request.

“Please,” Lian drew out the vowel sounds in the word, “Can you walk me to the bus stop, please?”

“Of course.”

Roy grabbed Lian’s things off the counter and handed then to her. Lian carefully inspected the contents of her lunch.

“Thanks Uncle Garth!” She said, apparently satisfied with what it contained.

Roy took a moment to acknowledge that Lian could tell who had packed her lunch.

Garth beamed at her. “You’re welcome, minn-” Garth seemed to catch Roy’s eye and changed his mind about his choice of words, “Lian. Have a good day at school.”

Lian grinned and jumped to give Garth a hug. She pressed her forehead to his and Garth bumped their noses briefly before she climbed down.

Roy seemed to be slightly in a daze as Lian took his head and led him out of the apartment. Why were Garth and Dolphin acting so differently? It was just fun for them, too, right? If that was the case, why would they be acting like they had spooked a cat? Or more accurately, like Lian had spooked a cat.

Okay, maybe he was acting like a spooked cat. He was going to have to clear his mind once Lian’s bus came. He looked down at his daughter who was humming something, he couldn’t figure out what and he was pretty sure she was mixing the beats of at least three different songs. She was lightly swinging her arm to get Roy to swing his as well. He smiled and gave into her.

“Dad, you’re dating Uncle Garth and Aunt Dolphin, right? They didn’t answer before.”

Roy gave a quick glance over to the other parents and kids at the bus stop. Only two of them seemed to be paying attention to him and his daughter, but only one of them had their eyebrow raised. Roy sighed and squatted down in front of Lian.

“Adult relationships are, uh, complicated, Li,” Roy said, trying to keep his voice low.

He hadn’t really ever meant to make his ‘adult relationships’ something that would affect Lian. He was careful with anyone Lian didn’t already know. He made sure that the only people around when Lian was around were people she knew, people Roy absolutely trusted. People like Donna, or Dick. Or Garth and Dol.

“You always say adult thing are complicated,” Lian rolled her eyes. “My life is never going to be complicated when I grow up.”

Roy tried to suppress his smirk and failed. Lian was more like him than he was willing to admit most days. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

“I hope that’s true, kiddo.” He motioned to ruffle her hair and Lian let out a tiny screech and shielded her head. Roy laughed and brought her in for a hug. He kissed her forehead and he knew she was scrunching her nose without even looking. “I promise I’ll tell you when I figure it out, okay?”

“Okay.” Lian seemed to be alright with the tentative answer. “But hurry up because I already have new names picked out.”

Roy snorted and watched as the bus came to a slow stop in front of them. Lian called out her goodbyes as she darted onto the bus and he watched as she quickly started chatting with a girl already sitting inside. She waved to him and he waved back, a smile plastered on his face.

As the bus pulled away, he saw one of the women who had been listening make eye contact with him before quickly darting her eyes away. Roy made his way back to his apartment before she could gather up the nerve to confront him about whatever opinions she had.

He opened the door to his place and took a quick inventory. Cerdian’s play pen was set up in the living room. A yoga mat was tucked into a corner. Dolphin’s romance novels were stacked on the coffee table. Lian’s favorite stuffed animal, a squid, sat on the couch next to the throw pillows Dolphin had helped him pick out. She had told him that it needed to feel like a home, and nothing said home more than a ton of pillows, at least, according to her.

He was caught still standing in his entryway when Garth came into the living to settle Cerdian into his play pen. Garth placed his son down and handed him a large letter block before walking over to Roy. Garth hesitantly reached for Roy’s shoulder before moving his trajectory to his hands.

Roy stared down at Garth’s large, battle worn hands in his own. Roy knew the power that resided in those hands. Roy’s calloused hands barely felt much rougher than Garth’s. Roy let his thumb graze over Garth’s knuckles slowly before he gently pulled his hands away.

“If you want, we can stay at the Tower, from now on. When we aren’t in Atlantis.”

Roy couldn’t bring himself to look at the man. He could tell Dolphin was standing near the kitchen entrance. He could feel her gaze on him.

“You’d be in Atlantis more, if it weren’t for me, wouldn’t you?” The question came out more accusatory than Roy had anticipated. Or, not anticipated, as the words had fallen out of his mouth more quickly than he had even formed the thoughts. He looked up now, shocked by his own query.

Garth’s face looked conflicted. It looked like he was walking a fine line between tact and disappointment. Roy flicked his eyes over to Dolphin’s and found a very similar look in her own. Roy sighed and wiped a hand across his face.

“No need to sugar-coat it for me, just tell it to me straight,” Roy’s voice was a flurry of frustration, “I don’t need to be coddled.”

“Except, you sort of do when it comes to this, don’t you?” Garth snapped.

Roy knew his surprise was visible. He suddenly couldn’t recall the last time Garth had seriously used his ‘I’m pissed off at you’ voice with him.

Dolphin had come up and sat herself on one of the couch’s armrests. She had her face scrunched up, like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

Garth sighed and folded his arms. He threw his head back a moment and stared at the textured ceiling above him. “Donna warned me,” He mumbled, only half out loud.

“And what does that mean?” Roy said. He leaned against the couch and folded his own arms. He knew he was posturing now, but he could tell they were about to get into uncomfortable territory. Maybe he was the one who made it uncomfortable, though.

“She warned me not to get into this with you,” Garth said. His words may have well as been a pointed finger waved in Roy’s face, or maybe a cocking gun. Garth sighed and brought his gaze to the floor. His eyes seemed far away despite Roy being able to see every shade of violet in his irises. Maybe he had spent too many nights staring into them, because he had a name for every shade.

“Roy, this can keep just being fun. It doesn’t have to mean anything,” Dolphin offered.

If Garth’s words had been the cocking gun, Dolphin’s were the bullets.

“You want it to mean something?” Roy asked, unable to mask the surprise in his voice.

“Of course we do,” Garth said, his posture sinking in on itself, as if the admission had deflated something inside of him. Perhaps it had.

“But,” Roy could barely find any words, let alone the ones he needed. His mind was travelling too quickly for there to be any verbal thoughts. “But, you guys have a life together, a life in Atlantis. You don’t need me. Why would you want me?”

“You, of all people, should know that need and want are not interchangeable.”

“Oh, of all people, huh? I thought that’s what made it _fun_.”

Garth and Roy had unconsciously moved closer to each other. Garth’s posture was still relaxed, but Roy’s had sprung back into alert. Dolphin quickly inserted herself in the middle of them. She placed a hand on Roy’s cheek.

“We’re not fighting, not today.” She let her hand fall slowly, her thumb brushing the bits of stubble on Roy’s chin. Her fingers lingered for a moment longer than necessary on Roy’s chest before her arm fell back against her side.

“We’ve avoided talking about feelings,” Garth began, “Both because I knew as soon as the possibility was brought up you would immediately think of any way to distance yourself from them and because I didn’t know if I was ready.”

“You?” Roy asked. He ignored the slight against himself because the second revelation was much more surprising.

“Yes, me,” Garth sighed. He took one of Dolphin’s hands in his own and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. “Even when I married Dol, I had doubts. I didn’t think I could ever love someone as much as I loved Tula.”

Roy darted his eyes over to Dolphin to gage her reaction, but she only had blatant compassion and understanding written on her face. This was clearly not a new subject for the two of them.

“But then I realized, with perhaps some less-than-ideal advice, that I didn’t have to love her the same way I loved Tula.” Garth brought Dol’s hand up to his mouth and placed a kiss on her wrist and then her palm. He whispered, ‘I love you’ and Dolphin whispered it back. “I love her, but it’s not the same. Do you, do you see where I’m going with this?”

Roy blinked. He blinked again. He opened his mouth, but Garth held up a hand.

“I want to make it clear, that I’m not saying ‘I love you’ right now.”

“Way to build up a guy’s ego and then crush it.”

“Always the jokes,” Garth exhaled. “Listen, I’m not saying I wouldn’t say it and mean it, I’m just saying, I don’t know if you’re ready to hear that. I want, _we_ want to go at your pace, Roy. If that means pretending we aren’t dating, that’s fine. If that means ignoring feelings for however much longer, that’s also fine.”

Roy had a thousand words at the tip of his tongue, but none of them seemed right. He stood there, feeling stupid.

“If you want us to not come back as often, or for as long, or at all,” Garth closed his eyes, “That’s fine as well.”

“I don’t want that.” The words rushed out of him, and as soon as they did, the rest of them came cascading along. “I want feelings, I don’t know how many, or how soon, or if maybe I already have them, but I want them.”

Dolphin’s shoulders immediately relaxed, and she held out her free hand to Roy. Roy grabbed onto it and let himself be tugged over to her. He leaned down slightly to press his forehead against hers. He could feel the contented sigh leave her body.

“I just know, I don’t want you guys to leave,” Roy whispered.

“We won’t,” Garth whispered back.

Roy could feel two arms snaking around him from behind and welcomed the warm embrace. Roy leaned into Garth’s touch slightly, before extracting himself from the slightly uncomfortable position.

Dolphin took the moment to check on Cerdian, who looked about ready for a nap. She lifted him out of the play pen and walked down to where Cerdian’s crib was in Lian’s room.

“You’re always ready to sleep right after you eat, aren’t you? My sleepy little one,” Dolphin cooed as she walked into the bedroom.

Roy walked around to the front of the couch and dropped himself onto it. Garth exhaled an amused breath and walked over to sit next to him. Garth settled into the couch a few inches from Roy. Roy placed a hand on Garth's thigh and dragged his fingers across it.

“You can get closer than that,” Roy mumbled.

“If I were a worse person, I’d make you say please,” Garth said, chuckling as he scooted his body so that their hips were aligned.

Roy threw an arm around Garth’s shoulders and half-heartedly muttered, “Shut-up.” Though, the smirk on his face could have given him away if they were not already too close for it too matter. Roy brought his lips down to Garth's and tried not to focus too much on how absolutely naturally they fell into a rhythm. 

Dolphin came back in moments later and quickly tucked herself into Roy’s other side. She gave him a kiss to his jaw, which prompted him to break off from Garth in order to meet Dol's softer lips. She sighed into the kiss and broke it off with a quick slide of her tongue over Roy's lips. She settled her head into the crook of Roy's arm.

“I’m sorry for being, well, an asshole about relationships,” Roy grumbled after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Roy, we know who you are,” Dolphin said, “We wouldn’t want you to change.”

“It’s weird though, right? I mean, we have kids and-”

“I don’t think any of us can categorize any part of this as weird after half of the shit we’ve seen.” Garth let out a small chuckle and snaked his arm around Roy’s waist, so he could find Dolphin’s hand. “I think, this is just nice.”

Roy let out a breath and let his shoulder relax. He tried to make the tension completely leave his body as he thought about those words.

“Yeah, just nice,” Roy said out loud, though, it wasn’t expressly meant for anyone but himself. He gave himself the reassurance that is _was_ nice. Even without having to decipher the feelings towards either Dol or Garth, being here with them was nice. Having them around was nice. Whatever you called whatever this was, was nice.


End file.
